Preventing early career burnout is critical for early career (and all) professionals, as burnout can negatively impact job performance, the quality of care and counseling services they provide, and their overall well-being. Early career burnout can also quickly lead to high turnover rates in the field, which can strain the already limited resources available to those needing services.

As a pre-licensed therapist, you are likely eager to start helping people and making a difference in their lives. However, becoming a licensed therapist and early career professional can be stressful, and knowing how to cope and prevent burnout is essential.

In this blog post, we'll discuss three examples: the motivations for becoming a mental health therapist, why being a therapist can be stressful, the symptoms emotional signs and physical signs of therapist and job burnout, the importance of early career wellness (ahem, effective supervision), and workplace stress coping strategies as a social worker or mental health service provider.

Motivations for Becoming a Counselor or Social Worker?

Becoming a therapist requires hard work, time, money, dedication, and passion. Several motivations drive people to pursue a career in counseling, such as the desire to help others, a personal connection to issues, and a desire to impact people's lives positively.

Some people are also drawn to the therapeutic relationship, which can be fulfilling and challenging. Common motivations for pursuing a career in mental health services include a desire to help others, a personal connection to anxiety or depression, a passion for psychology and human behavior, and a desire to impact people's lives positively and maintain a professional standard.

Some individuals may have had personal experiences with therapy or psychological challenges and want to help others in similar situations. Others may be driven by personal issues or a desire to support individuals in their journey toward healing, growth, and personal fulfillment.

Being a Therapist is Too Stressful

Sometimes it can be so stressful that therapist burnout happens. It often involves working with individuals struggling with difficult life experiences, such as trauma, mental illness, complex services, issues, or relationship problems. However, it can also be a gratifying and fulfilling profession.

Avoiding Therapist Burnout in Fort Collins

It's also important to remember that chronic stress and burnout symptoms are not inevitable for therapists. By prioritizing self-care and seeking support, therapists can reduce stress and maintain a healthy and fulfilling work life. Ultimately, the stress experience burnout level of being a therapist will vary from person to person and depend on various factors, including the type of therapy, the client population, and the individual therapist's coping strategies and resilience.

Therapist Burnout Symptoms

Burnout is a state of physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion that can result from chronic work-related stress. The symptoms of burnout can vary from person to person but commonly include feelings of the following feelings:

1. Physical exhaustion: Feeling tired, drained, or lacking energy even after a good night's sleep.

2. Emotional exhaustion: Feeling emotionally depleted or distant from work and lacking satisfaction or accomplishment.

3. Mental exhaustion: Difficulty concentrating, forgetfulness, and feeling mentally foggy.

4. Depersonalization: A negative, cynical, or detached attitude towards work and those you serve.

5. Decreased personal efficacy: A feeling of incompetence and lack of progress in one's work.

6. Decreased motivation: Loss of interest or engagement in work and decreased job satisfaction.

7. Increased absenteeism: Taking more time off work due to illness or burnout.

8. Increased use of substances: Using drugs, alcohol, or other substances to cope with work-related stress.

It's important to note that burnout is not just feeling stressed or overwhelmed. It is a specific syndrome recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) and can have severe consequences for one's mental and physical health.

Early Career Social Workers'

As helping professionals, it is essential to prioritize your mental and emotional health and well-being. This can help you avoid burnout, maintain a healthy work-life balance, and effectively support your clients. Here are some strategies for managing your clinical practice and wellness as an early career professional:

1. Practice self-care: Make time for activities you enjoy and help you relax, such as exercise, hobbies, or spending time with friends and family.

2. Set boundaries: Establish clear boundaries between work and personal time to avoid overworking and burnout.

3. Seek support: Join a professional organization or support group, attend therapy or counseling, or engage in clinical supervision (both group and individual) with a trusted colleague.

4. Maintain a healthy work-life balance: Take regular breaks, prioritize sleep, and find ways to manage stress outside of work.

5. Seek clinical supervision and consultation: Engage in the clinical supervisory process with a trusted mentor. It’s important to surround yourself with supervisors you admire and those you want to learn from!

6. Engage in ongoing professional development: Attend conferences, workshops, and training to stay up-to-date on new developments and best practices. Being in learning communities is essential for your professional development.

7. Prioritize sleep habits & a healthy diet: While you're trying to take back control, and manage constant demands, and feel like you have too many responsibilities as a social worker, get back to basics and focus on what you're eating and how you're sleeping.

Remember that taking care of yourself and prioritizing your mental, physical, and emotional health is not selfish; it's essential to being a practical and resilient professional. Recovering from burnout can be a gradual process for a social worker.

Managing perfectionism and job burnout

Perfectionism can lead to burnout for social workers by setting unrealistic expectations for their clinical practice, creating a fear of failure, and causing excessive self-criticism of their clinical skills. Social workers may work long hours to meet these expectations, leading to emotional exhaustion and a decreased ability to provide quality care.

Perfectionism can also lead to difficulty delegating tasks, taking breaks, or asking for help, further increasing stress levels. This can lead to a cycle of overworking, feeling unsatisfied with work, and experiencing negative effects of burnout, ultimately leading to decreased job performance and potential harm to clients. Partnering with a strong clinical supervisor to help detect these tendencies in your clinical supervision session is important. This support plan is a crucial part of your professional development. Inadequate supervision sessions only compound perfectionistic tendencies. Be critical of your supervisors’ competence to support you and advocate for the support your need!

Workplace Stress

Pre-licensed therapists can use several workplace stress coping strategies to manage the focus of the job. One effective strategy is establishing healthy boundaries between work and personal life. This can include setting aside time for self-care, such as exercise, meditation, or hobbies, and avoiding work-related tasks during personal time. This is a great opportunity to partner with your Clinical Supervisor and come up with a plan for success.

Another strategy is to seek support from coworkers, effective clinical supervision, friends, and family members. Finally, pre-licensed therapists can seek professional help, such as counseling or therapy, to manage the stress of the job.

Here are some strategies for coping with workplace stress:

1. Make time for activities you enjoy and help you relax, such as exercise, hobbies, or spending time with friends and family.

2. Set boundaries: Establish clear boundaries between work and personal time to avoid overworking and burnout.

3. Seek support: Join a professional organization or support group, attend therapy or counseling, or engage in regular and consistent clinical supervision sessions with a trusted colleague.

4. Take regular breaks: Make time for frequent breaks throughout the day to reduce stress and increase productivity.

5. Practice stress-management techniques: Engage in mindfulness, deep breathing, or other methods to help you cope with workplace stressors.

6. Maintain a healthy work-life balance: Prioritize sleep, exercise, and other healthy habits to help you maintain a healthy balance between work and personal life.

7. Seek professional help: If stress levels become overwhelming, seek help from a professional, such as a therapist or counselor.

8. Consider workplace changes: If workplace stressors persist, consider discussing changes with your employer, such as adjusting your workload or working schedule.

Managing workplace stress is ongoing; finding what works best for you may take time. By prioritizing self-care and seeking support, you can build resilience to excessive stress and maintain a healthy and fulfilling work life.

Work-Related Stress

Pre-licensed therapists can also use several techniques to cope with work-related stress. One effective technique is mindfulness meditation, which can help reduce stress and improve focus. Another technique is deep breathing, which can help calm the mind and reduce stress.

Pre-licensed therapists can also practice self-care, such as exercise, healthy eating, and adequate time off. Organizational and cultural factors can also contribute to early career burnout in early career professionals.

Clinical Supervisors, employers, and counselors can support their employees by providing a work environment that values self-care, offers resources and support for wellness, and prioritizes work-life balance. Additionally, public health organizations can provide continuing education, professional development, and growth opportunities to keep early career professionals motivated and engaged.

Clinical Supervision is Burnout Prevention

Counselors and social work professionals need regular clinical supervision and support from clinical supervisors or mentors. The clinical supervision process can provide a space for professionals to process their cases, receive feedback, and have their wellness to be addressed.

Clinical supervision can play an essential role in preventing burnout among mental health professionals. Clinical supervisors provide a safe space for early career professionals to process their cases, receive feedback, and have their own professional needs addressed.

By having regular access to effective clinical supervision, a social worker for support, or a mentor, social workers, and counselors can receive support and guidance in managing the stress and emotions of the job.

Through clinical supervision, social workers can learn coping strategies and stress-management techniques to help them handle the demands of their job.

Clinical Supervision Can Help Identify Patterns of Burnout

The clinical supervision process can also help counselors identify patterns in their work contributing to burnout, such as taking on too much stress in too many pressure cases or not setting clear boundaries with clients. This is also an opportunity to address overly demanding job expectations. Sometimes it's not a matter of strategy; it's a workload and expectation issue!

Clinical supervision allows counselors and social workers to receive feedback and evaluate their work. This can help mental health professionals feel a sense of accomplishment and validation in their work, increasing job satisfaction and reducing the likelihood of burnout.

By supporting clients and providing a supportive space to process their cases, review legal and ethical issues, receive feedback and support, and prioritize their mental health, clinical supervision can help early career professionals maintain balance and avoid burnout.

Evidence-Based Practices

Another way to prevent burnout is by incorporating evidence-based practices into clinical work. Evidence-based practices are approaches to treatment that have been tested and found to be effective, and they can help mental health professionals feel more confident and competent in their work.

Mental health professionals can also benefit from ongoing training programs and education to stay current with their latest research and advancements. Evidence-based practices provide social work professionals with a clear and structured approach to treatment, which can increase their confidence and competence in their work.

Social work & counseling professionals who use evidence-based practices have the knowledge and skills to effectively treat their clients, which can increase their sense of fulfillment and satisfaction in their work. This, in turn, can reduce the likelihood of experiencing burnout.

Evidence-Based Practice Helps With Efficiency

Evidence-based practices help early career professionals be more efficient in their work by providing clear guidelines for treatment and assessment. This can reduce the time and energy mental health professionals spend trying to determine the best course of treatment. They can increase their overall sense of effectiveness and satisfaction in their work.

Evidence-based practices are continuously updated and refined based on the latest research and advancements, which can help keep early career professionals engaged and motivated. This ongoing learning and growth can also prevent boredom and burnout by providing new challenges and opportunities for professional development.

TL/DR

Okay, speed readers. Here is the synopsis.

It is crucial for mental health professionals to have open and honest communication with their clients and clinical supervisor and to set clear expectations for the supervisory relationship. This can help to avoid misunderstandings and conflicts that can contribute to burnout.

Furthermore, early career professionals should make an effort to collaborate with other professionals, such as other mental health professionals, primary care physicians, and school social workers, and engage diverse clients in interdisciplinary care to provide comprehensive and coordinated care to their clients.

Signs of burnout

Counseling and social work professionals need to recognize burnout's signs and early symptoms and take steps to address them promptly. Burnout can manifest in various ways, such as exhaustion, detachment from work, decreased sense of accomplishment, and reduced work satisfaction.

Suppose early career professionals experience any of these symptoms. In that case, they should seek support from their supervisor, therapist, family members, or support network and take time to prioritize self-care and recharge.

Prevention is Key

Preventing early career burnout is essential for the well-being of social work professionals and the quality of care they provide to their clients.

Counseling professionals can refer clients to avoid burnout by prioritizing self-care, setting boundaries, receiving regular clinical supervision and support, utilizing evidence-based practices, and engaging in ongoing training and education.

Clinical Supervisors can also play a critical role in preventing burnout by creating a supportive supervisory relationship that prioritizes self-care and emotional well-being. If early career (or any stage career) professionals experience symptoms of burnout, they should take steps to address them promptly and seek support.

The Prevalence of Burnout and Depression

One research article that could be helpful to share about burnout as a social worker or counselor is "The Prevalence of Burnout and Depression in Medical and Mental Health Professionals: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis" by Shanafelt et al. (2016). Although this article focuses on medical professionals, it includes professionals such as counselors and social workers and the value of infrastructure, resolving poor supervision, and investing in quality clinical supervision.

The article presents a comprehensive analysis of the prevalence of burnout and depression among healthcare professionals and provides insights into risk factors and interventions that can help prevent burnout.

The article's findings can be useful for social workers and counselors to understand the prevalence of burnout and how to address it effectively.

Are you seeking to start clinical supervision and receive healthy and constructive feedback? Reach out to a licensed supervisor on our team at Two Rivers Therapy and start the process of securing regular supervision sessions. Remember that seeking feedback is a sign of strength, not weakness, and constructive criticism can help you improve your skills and provide better care to your clients. So don't wait any longer; follow these three simple steps to get started:

1. Sign up for clinical supervision at Two Rivers Therapy

2. Begin working with one of our skilled therapists

3. Start focusing on your clinical, personal, and professional growth!

Other Services Offered at Two Rivers Therapy

At Two Rivers Therapy, we understand you may struggle with multiple mental health struggles. To best support our clients in achieving optimal mental health and well-being, we offer anxiety therapy, depression treatment, trauma therapy, therapy for teens, and therapy for the overwhelmed and overworked. To learn more, check out our blog or About Us!